RUSSELL Westbrook had a triple-double, Bradley Beal scored 27 points and the Washington Wizards beat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 116-107 on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).
Westbrook finished with 18 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists for his 30th triple-double of the season. Alex Len had 18 points and nine rebounds for Washington (28-34), which has won 11 of 13 and currently holds the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers (36-26) with 26 points. Andre Drummond had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who have lost four of five.
The Lakers shot 43.8 percent (42 of 96) from the field and were outrebounded 50-41.
Los Angeles trailed by six at halftime and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s 3-pointer pulled the Lakers within 69-67 with 7:52 left in the third quarter. But Raul Neto’s 3-pointer kicked off a 16-2 Wizards run, capped by Beal’s 3-pointer and Len’s free throw, which made it 85-69.
The Lakers went scoreless for just over four minutes.
Ish Smith’s 3-pointer pushed the lead to 90-74 and the margin was 13 after three quarters.
In other games, it was the Suns 109, Clippers 101; Sixers 127, Hawks 83; Jazz 154, Kings 105; Nuggets 114, Pelicans 112; Heat 116, Spurs 111; Celtics 120, Hornets 111; Blazers 130, Grizzlies 109; Knicks 113, Bulls 94; and Magic 109, Cavaliers 104.
Suns 109, Clippers 101
The Phoenix Suns clinched their first playoff berth since the 2009-10 season with a win over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.
Chris Paul scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, and he also had 10 assists.
Phoenix is now two games ahead of the Clippers for second place in the Western Conference. The Utah Jazz lead the conference standings by a game over the Suns.
Phoenix’s Devin Booker added 21 points and six rebounds. Paul George had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles, and Marcus Morris Sr. added 16 points. — Field Level Media
